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Politics and the economy are in the forefront of everyones mind these days. The two words have also become fairy inter-twined. Gone are the good old days where the President’s morality was more important than a President’s intelligence.

Probably the market is capitulating as I write this. Hopefully, we are near the bottom. The Fed has done more after the problem started then it ever did before the problem began. Greenspan had called the housing bubble a froth in 2005. I came across an article by Mike Whitney (http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney08172005.html) in 2005 that speaks very lucidly about the potential of the disaster.

Much has been said and written about this disaster. For the next fifty years this meltdown will be discussed by notable management schools like Harvard, Yale and the like. Hindsight will identify the problem and discuss measures not to allow it to happen again.

We are living in a time of historic happenings. Neither your name nor mine will make the history books but we are the common people that history will talk about. We are the common people who lost our homes, lost our savings, lost our lives as we knew it. The words meltdown, bailout, derivatives, credit default swaps will all be the jargons used to describe the event. Movies will be made, there will be documentaries, personal videos on you tube, thousands of blogs like this one will be written.

This is a new beginning. A different world. A new financial system. We are just getting into the new reality. We will learn and adapt very quickly and this will be a distant memory. The elections will be over. There will be a new President. The spin will start and we will all glide along into the beginnings of a new bubble. Be smart everybody. Don’t get fooled this time around.

Finally, the Congress passed the bailout bill. I, as everyone else, have been thinking about the bill and the consequences of not passing it the last few weeks. I do not know what is right but this is what comes from my heart.

We are today a country of angry citizens because we have been put in a situation that is not our doing. We are today a country of frightened citizens not knowing what tomorrow brings. We are today a country of outraged citizens that a government built on so many checks and balances failed in protecting our finances. We are today a country of worried citizens not sure whether we will have a job tomorrow. We are today a country of incensed citizens that people in charge to the till robbed us blind in front of our own eyes. We are today a nation of infuriated citizens that the people who robbed us blind were bailed out today at our expense. We are today a country of enraged citizens that the very people who robbed us are now in charge of the bailout disbursement. We are today a country of furious citizens that we will probably be electing the very same people who belied our trust to continue the same policies as if nothing happened.

We are today a country of wiser citizens who will hopefully make wiser choices and judgements in the future.

A miserable day on Wall Street! The Dow collapsed after the bailout plan was rejected by the US House. A part of me knows that we need the bailout plan to save the economy from further deterioration and parts of me disagree with the bailout.

The bill will ultimately pass but not before further discussions, bickering and political posturing. This will drive the Dow to lower levels it has not seen in some time.

Unfortunately, the common man does get affected by this though on the face, it appears like a Wall Street bailout. We all have our 401Ks and other investments in stocks and mutual funds. With the Dow crashing the value of these investments also drop.

Initially it was the mortgage companies, now it is the banks and insurance companies collapsing. With each collapse thousands of honest, hard working employees lose their jobs.

What is the solution to this mess all of us find ourselves in? Nobody has an answer today. However, we need to be optimistic. In adversity lies opportunity. We should keep our eyes peeled and seize every opportunity that comes our way. One of those opportunities is bound to reward but will take perseverance and hard work. So folks, roll up your sleeves and start hunting!